PREVIOUSLY, ON "I HEART HUCKLEBERRY" . . .

(here's what you missed between 12/13/09 and 2/13/10)

12/13.

huck had a little party two days before his actual birthday,

12/15.

and then his real 1st birthday was celebrated quite simply and sweetly.

12/19.

a few days later, we went to seattle to visit sarah and rafer. they made a phenomenal french-y dinner of merguez sausages, roasted cauliflower with raita, green lentils, a fresh baguette, and some of rafer's delicious wine.

12/20.

then we boarded a plane to kansas city, missouri and drove a car to (brrr) omaha, nebraska.

there, tricia, mark, vovo, pop-pop, and eight of mark's family members were waiting for us to eat raisins,

12/21.

snuggle,

12/22.

and eat sugary snacks and drink hot tea.

although this was more than enough to keep us happy, we were gathering together for something much more momentus: to celebrate tricia and mark's wedding. whoot whoot!

12/23.

there was a rehearsal dinner the night before,

followed by a cozy, cuddly game of "where's pop-pop?".

12/24.

then finally it was the big day: december 24th, christmas eve, and the wedding!

so we decorated the house . . .

got ourselves dressed . . .

took our respective places . . .

and watched tricia walk down the aisle . . .

to her handsome fancier.

the ceremony was intimate, comfy, and very tender,

and once it was over, we kicked up our heels, made merry, and celebrated with a full blown feast.

then we played games, received gifts from the newlyweds (!), and as we'd been practicing, ate sugary snacks and drank hot tea.

12/25.

we went to bed tired, and woke up the next morning to celebrate christmas . . .

a very, very, very white christmas.

luckily, inside tricia and mark's house it was still very warm and very welcoming (and very full of food and gifts).

12/27.

two days later (sniff), we got on another plane and headed back to portland.

12/31.

on new year's eve, we all (and i mean all) spent the night at grandpa ted's house in estacada, which is where todd is storing the walnut he milled up from grandpa lew's tree.

1/2.

once we settled in back home, huck got to play with all of the gifts he received for his birthday and for christmas (including the vintage radio flyer ride from g-ma b). he also got to perfect his upright, swaggering saunter.

we took lots of walks . . .

1/3.

went to see the zoo lights . . .

ate an elephant ear . . .

1/7.

took some baths with spike . . .

1/14.

and had some sleepovers with grandma b.

we also drank lattes . . .

rode in vovo's red wagon . . .

blew bubbles at the park . . .

roughhoused in the play room . . .

1/17.

and made our way back up to seattle for sarah and rafer's baby shower.

while we were there this time, we put on a seattle bakery "croissant-off" with our friends. we compared plain croissants, pain au chocolat, baguettes, and one signature item from three bakeries: bakery noveau, honore, and cafe besalu. as you may have expected, cafe besalu got the gold.

1/18.

then my baby and sarah's baby spent some time getting to know each other.

and since paseo was closed and we couldn't get the cuban pork sandwiches that we were SO BADLY craving, we fueled up at dick's on our way out of town.

1/20.

back in portland, i shot some more blurry photos of the squirmy huckleberry . . .

caught him trying on my boots . . .

captured his daily habit trail . . .

1/23.

and watched him master the art of climbing

1/28.

and swinging.

1/29.

huck traveled many miles in his stroller . . .

hid many times in his favorite little nook . . .

and turned daddy's lamp on and off and on and off and on and off.

1/30.

he also, of course, napped.

and one day while he did, i made some impromptu whipped cream by shaking heavy cream in a mason jar (yum!).

1/31.

at the end of the month (and on pop-pop's birthday) we watched uncle travis try out for the portland timbers soccer team, and then got to hang out with him for two whole days.

2/4.

later that week, huck learned a bit of yoga. then he showed me how he could nimbly hold an asana posture while brushing his teeth.

2/5.

in the beginning of february, the sun was around a lot so we were outside a lot: walking,

eating,

and watching things grow.

then i started a little birdie sewing project . . .

and huck started peeing on the bathroom floor before he gets into his bath.

2/6.

one weekend, we drove to the sandy river delta to see maya lin's bird blind for the confluence project. it was exquisite.

huck was impressed, but he mostly just wanted to walk around, pick up leaves and sticks, and sit in (and eat) the dirt. i really don't blame him. it just smelled so good out there.

2/7.

and last but not least, todd and ben continued to dial in the spacecraft shop

2/7.

while huck continued to perfect his electrical skills . . .

hone his nook-finding talent . . .

2/8.

and sharpen his bathing ability, which is far and away the best one of all.

2/13.

unless, of course, you consider the art he so masterfully practiced today: fitting his left pointer finger perfectly into his left nostril. pictures of this impressive faculty coming up next.